Analog Tester

Quick start

1. 1
   Connect your controller. Plug it in over USB, or pair it over Bluetooth in your device settings first.
2. 2
   Sweep both sticks in full circles, then let go. Push each trigger all the way down too, then release it completely.
3. 3
   Read the badges below. Each stick and trigger settles into "Centered", "Full range", or a specific warning once it has enough data.

Test your analog inputs

How to read the results

The stick trail

The faint orange line traces wherever the stick has been for the last second or two. Sweep it in a full circle and look at the shape that's left behind: a smooth, even circle is healthy. A flattened edge, a sharp corner, or a section that never reaches as far as the rest usually points to a worn spot in the stick's mechanical range rather than anything electrical.

Centered or Drift detected

This page watches for moments where the stick stops moving and treats that as its resting point. A genuinely centered stick rests within a couple percent of zero on each axis. Anything held consistently further out than that, with nobody touching the stick, is what's commonly called stick drift, and it's usually caused by a worn potentiometer rather than dirt alone.

Max reach

The dashed ring grows as you push the stick further from centre and stays at the largest distance it has seen this session. If it never approaches the solid outer ring in one particular direction, no matter how hard you push, that direction may have a physically restricted range rather than a software problem.

Trigger resting and reached values

"Rest" is what the trigger settles on once it stops moving, the same way a stick's rest point is measured, so it always reflects its current behaviour rather than something measured once at the start. It should settle at or near zero percent shortly after you let go. "Reached" is the highest value seen this session, which should climb close to one hundred percent once you've pressed it all the way in. A trigger that settles somewhere above zero after release, or won't climb past roughly ninety percent no matter how hard it's pressed, is flagged so you know where to look.

Connecting by device

Windows & Mac

Plug in over USB, or pair over Bluetooth in your system settings first. Chrome, Edge, and Firefox all support the controller out of the box once it's paired.

Android (phone & tablet)

Pair the controller in your device's Bluetooth settings, then open this page in Chrome. Other Android browsers vary in their support.

iPhone & iPad

Pair an MFi or Bluetooth controller in Settings, then open this page in Safari. iOS has supported the same Gamepad API since version 14.5.

Linux

Plug in over USB or pair over Bluetooth, then use Chrome or Firefox. Some distros need a one-time udev rule for certain Bluetooth controllers to be recognised by the OS at all — if the controller isn't visible at the system level, it won't be visible here either.

Troubleshooting

My stick shows drift but I never touched it

That's the most common reason people land on this page. Try rotating the stick through a few full circles first to work any dust off the contact ring, then let go completely and watch the rest point settle. If the same offset keeps coming back, the part wearing down is usually the potentiometer underneath, not the rubber cap on top.

The trail looks lopsided instead of round

A consistent flat spot in the same place every time you circle the stick points to a mechanical limit in that direction. A trail that's round but offset from centre, rather than flattened, is closer to ordinary drift than to a range problem.

A trigger never reaches full depth

Confirm you're pressing it all the way to its physical stop, not just until the game would normally register a full press. If the reading still tops out well short of one hundred percent, the sensor or spring inside the trigger may be the limiting factor.

A trigger does not return to zero

Release it fully and tap the housing gently; a reading that drops back down after a light tap points to debris or a sticky return spring rather than a dead sensor.

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